Russian strategic bomber patrols at highest level since collapse of the USSR
The commander of U.S. forces in Europe said last week that recent stepped up Russian strategic bomber patrols were being watched but are not yet a concern for the U.S. military.
Army Gen. Bantz Craddock, European command chief, told reporters that he did not know what was behind the recent flights of strategic nuclear forces bombers that have triggered air defense warnings and interceptor jet scramblings in areas near the flights in Europe and North America.
“I think that first of all, there's been some, as we know, reinvestment from the decline of the Russian military capability throughout the '90s, with the windfall oil profits, into the military today,” Craddock said, including the strategic bomber force.
“Is it cause for concern? I don't know that it's concern. I think it's noteworthy,” he said. “We watch it, as we always do. The nations in those flightpaths, where those bombers are coming by, obviously watch for this interdiction of their airspace. Fair enough but at this point, I don't see it as threatening at all.”
Russia is rebuilding its military forces, including nuclear forces, after more than a decade of low investment that has led to the loss of capabilities, U.S. officials said.
Asked how unusual the bomber flights were, Craddock said the level of sorties were not unprecedented or at the same levels as before the collapse of the Soviet Union. “But we hadn't seen it in a few years,” he said.
